help on studies

i m new to java though have sufficient develpoment experience in other languages. i picked up java and a friend of mine told me that if you want to learn any technology fast start making a project on it and you will explore things faster. Adhering to his advice i started making a library project on java with postgres as backend. I m using netbeans. After half the project, i realize that my concepts on java and oops have not grown and i am just writing usable code in the netbeans defined events with select and insert queries and nothing else. To learn real java should i stop using netbeans and write the code from scratch? Another friend of mine told me that java is meant for internet applications and you should not make desktop applications on it. ? is it so. i think to convert my library project into internet based application, the only thing would be that on desktop it wud run on explorer on tomcat or jboss. What are your suggestions. Thirdly kindly suggest me some good books so that i can graduate faster from core java to jsp to ejb to j2ee. Recently i have ordered murach's series as it appears that they are faster and professional. Also kindly suggest the books for clearing SCJA. In india we cant find cameron mckenzie examscam.

And please don't post the same question in multiple forums. It appears you posted this question in both beginners and advanced - the latter of which got moved to beginners as well. I have deleted the other copy of this thread.

There are only two hard things in computer science: cache invalidation, naming things, and off-by-one errors

I am just writing usable code in the netbeans defined events with select and insert queries and nothing else.

That's probably a common way to build things at first go. Over time people have found that it makes things hard to change, so some design ideas have emerged to break things up. Google for Swing and Model View Controller or Model Presenter then scroll down to the UML, OO, etc. forum and ask about anything that doesn't make sense.

Another friend of mine told me that java is meant for internet applications and you should not make desktop applications on it.

Nah, don't believe it. Java has a big presence in web systems but there are some great Java desktop apps out there. Maybe not so much commercial shrink-wrap like MS-Office but good stuff.

I think to convert my library project into internet based application ...

A well designed app often has big parts that are neither internet or desktop, they're just Java classes that can run anywhere. If you make that an objective from the beginning, you can keep the web or desktop parts of the system relatively thin and build a core that can be used either way. If you study up on Model View Controller you'll find the Model doesn't have to know anything about the front-end.

To learn real java should i stop using netbeans and write the code from scratch?

NetBeans isn't a problem, but your basic architecture is going to hold you back. A new project would be a good education. You can probably move a lot of your existing code into new places, so don't delete it!

Hope this encourages you to keep digging and keep having fun. Zoom down to the OO, UML forum if you want to talk about those architecture and design ideas.

A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened into place but a seed to be planted and to bear more seed toward the hope of greening the landscape of the idea. John Ciardi

Anand Shrivastava

Ranch Hand

Posts: 125

posted 10 years ago

Thanks a lot stan. probably i offended people by posting the question on many places. i apologise, but i only intended that it can be seen by beginners as well as experts. thanks once again.

I wouldn't say you "offended" people. It's just to everyone's benefit to post it in one place. You can read our rational for it here. There are other topics worth reading on our "How to Ask Questions" FAQ.

There are only two hard things in computer science: cache invalidation, naming things, and off-by-one errors